Written
by mandrake-o
Summary: Gabriel goes to visit, and possibly destroy, his brothers' vessels as children. He doesn't count on falling for John Winchester and decides they'll all write their own destinies. Slash. John/Gabriel.


**Written**

Author's Note: Originally posted on my LiveJournal (I'm mandraco, over there) for kijikun's prompt on comment-fic: "John/Gabriel, wee!chesters, Gabriel decides they'll write their own destiny." And if you like this you should check out kijikun's journal because they write a lot of this sort of stuff.

x X X x

Gabriel heard of Sam and Dean Winchester before he ever met them. There had been stories told of Mary Campbell and Azazel had bragged that he'd tricked one of _the_ hunting Campbells into giving him her child. There were whispers that the boy would become Lucifer's vessel, and that his older brother might be Michael's. Both sides spoke of the coming battle with anticipation. Soon enough their side would finally prove their dominance over the other.

Gabriel had really been hoping that they were done with all of that. He'd watched his brothers fight once. He didn't want to do it again. So, not long after Sam Winchester was born, Gabriel went to visit the Winchesters. If the Winchesters didn't survive to adulthood, his brothers couldn't have their final stand off. Gabriel had a plan. He'd knock out the mother before she could get in his way. Then he'd test both the boys and if he found that they could take the essence of an archangel, he was going to scatter them into pieces only his Father would be able to find.

What Gabriel didn't plan for was John Winchester.

Though there were protections on the house, there were none against archangels and Gabriel entered the house easily by flying straight into the master bedroom. Exhausted from caring for a newborn, Mary was asleep in her bed. Gabriel pushed her further into sleep. He looked for the children. The baby wasn't in his crib, and the boy wasn't in his bedroom.

Gabriel pushed out with his senses and found the two of them downstairs with their father. Sam was awake, and perfectly content though it was the middle of the night. Dean was awake, but tired, and insistent that he wasn't going to go to sleep until Sammy did. The baby was still new and exciting enough that Dean didn't want to miss a moment with his baby brother. But it was John who truly captured Gabriel's attention.

The man was beyond exhaustion. Only the couch was holding him upright and he should have forced Dean to go to bed hours ago, if only to stave off tomorrow's crankiness. But holding his boys, John was content. His soul radiated, and his boys' were just as bright. It was mesmerising. Gabriel didn't dare touch them. Instead of tearing the sons to pieces so that they could never be put back together, Gabriel watched and listened as a father told story after story to his sons in his low rumbling voice. It was John's life, edited for young ears and as John explained every decision that had led him to this point in his life, Gabriel found himself again.

Gabriel forgot that he was a trickster and remembered that he was a brother and a son. That he had a family. That Lucifer and Michael didn't have to destroy each other. That they might be saved. For the first time in a long time, Gabriel had hope. It terrified and excited Gabriel all at once. He knew that whatever he did in the future, he couldn't destroy John's family. So Gabriel set as many protective wards as he could without revealing himself, and went to explain himself to the only person who could be trusted with John's safety.

x x x

Gabriel appeared in Mary's dream. It was more of a nightmare, as Azazel was stalking her in the shape of her father. Gabriel banished the vision and sat down to talk to Mary.

"What are you?" she asked him.

And for the first time in millennia, Gabriel introduced himself.

"I don't understand," she said. "Why are you here?"

Gabriel told her the story of his brothers. Of Lucifer's cage and the sixty-six seals. Of Michael's thirst to prove himself. Of the apocalypse, and the role of angelic vessels. "I want your boys to write their own destinies," he said.

Mary nodded and thanked him. "But why?" she asked. "If God said it was meant to be, why are you trying to stop it?"

Gabriel wasn't sure himself. He only knew that John Winchester's soul was beautiful and it deserved to be preserved. He wasn't sure how much of himself he let her see in that unguarded moment, but he didn't have to find the words to explain himself.

"Oh," she said.

"After today, I won't be back," he said, not realising that he'd made that decision until he spoke the words.

She seemed confused by that statement. "Won't you stay and protect us?"

"I'm not your personal guardian angel," he snapped, surprising himself with the strength of his conviction. "I've protected the house. You'll be safe within it. Actually, the whole neighbourhood is safe."

Again, Mary seemed to understand more than Gabriel had said. Though she'd lied to the man about a large portion of her life, it seemed John had chosen the perfect woman. That realisation made Gabriel want to fly to the other side of the world as quickly as possible.

"Wait," said Mary, sensing he was about to leave. "What about the demon with the yellow eyes?"

"Azazel talks a lot. He's been doing the same thing for years and never gotten the right results," said Gabriel. "You don't have to worry about him."

Gabriel was true to his word. He flew away and didn't return to that house ever again.

x x x

Years later, Gabriel realised that something had gone wrong when he began to hear whispers of John Winchester, the hunter. Whispers that mentioned his wife's death, and that it had been Azazel's doing. With the right questions spoken into the right ears, Gabriel realised that the protections he'd placed, the good he'd tried to do, hadn't even lasted six months. Something had forced the Winchesters to move out. What happened, Mary?

Gabriel was furious with himself. He sought out Azazel immediately, and despite the risk to his own continued subterfuge, he smote the yellow-eyed bastard. It was the least he could do for John and Mary. Then he had to do what he never thought he would. He had to tell John Winchester that he'd killed the demon who had murdered his wife.

John was the picture of a heartbroken man. He was hunched over in the front seat of his old car, his children locked in the hotel room he was parked in front of. Gabriel couldn't help checking in on the boys before going out to see John. They were sharing a bed and watching an old horror movie that was likely to give Sammy nightmares later. Gabriel sent them both to sleep and turned off the television before appearing in the front seat of the Impala.

For all that John appeared to be wallowing in private, as soon as Gabriel appeared, John was levelling a handgun at him. Gabriel pushed it down so that it pointed away from him. "That's not going to work on me."

"What are you?" asked John, not loosening his grip on his weapon, but not re-aiming, either.

"I'm the angel Gabriel."

Gabriel wasn't expecting John to laugh, but he hadn't realised John was actually drunk.

"I'm supposed to believe that _you_ are an angel?" The once-over John gave him was perhaps not the reaction that Gabriel had been looking for. Mary certainly hadn't been this disrespectful when Gabriel first met her.

Gabriel let a little of his grace seep out of his vessel. It wasn't enough to call attention to himself or to blind John, but it was enough to sober John up.

"What do you want?" asked John. "Did you kill my wife?"

"No," said Gabriel, starting with the easier question to answer. "I tried to protect her. To protect all of you."

John's laugh was cynical and devoid of all humour. "You must be the most incompetent angel in the history of angels."

"So you believe I am one, then," said Gabriel, trying not to be hurt by John's comment. He didn't really know him. He had no reason to trust him, and to top it all off, his wife was dead.

"I don't know what I believe," said John. "My wife is dead and I don't know what I believe." It was more than a personal crisis of faith. This was John's whole world rocking on its foundation. And though Gabriel thought he might be able to repair them a little, he would have to earn John's trust, first.

"Well I'm here, and you're here," said Gabriel. "You believe in that, don't you?"

"I don't know," said John. "I was beyond drunk not too long ago. How do I know I haven't just passed out?"

Gabriel reached out and deposited them on the unoccupied bed in the Winchesters' motel room. "There are your boys," said Gabriel. "They're safe and asleep."

John was silenced by their presence. Even his soul seemed to relax. "You're not going to hurt them," he whispered.

"No," said Gabriel. "But I need to tell you a story."

John shook his head and looked away from his boys. "Is it a bedtime story?"

Gabriel ignored the comment. "A few days after Sam was born, I visited your house," said Gabriel.

"If you tell me that Sam's the second coming of Christ..." John didn't finish his threat.

"No," said Gabriel, and he would have laughed if this wasn't all so serious. "Closer to the opposite."

John's eyes widened and his scowl deepened.

"It doesn't matter," said Gabriel. "Because it's not going to happen." He sighed and explained about angelic vessels.

"They want my sons?" asked John.

"Actually," said Gabriel, who'd done a little research since the last time he'd seen John. "You could be Michael's vessel."

"Not on my watch," said John. "So you came to spy on my boys? See if they'd one day be your brothers?"

"I came to destroy them," said Gabriel, figuring honesty was the best policy as far as John was concerned. "Without a vessel, my brothers can't fight their war on Earth."

John reached out as though to break Gabriel's neck.

"But I didn't destroy them," said Gabriel, moving out of John's grasp. "I placed protections around your neighbourhood and told Mary everything."

John's hands clenched into fists. "You told my wife?"

"Mary was a hunter," said Gabriel. "I knew that she would believe me and that she would protect you if she knew what she was up against."

"Then why?" asked John. "How did she die?"

"A demon called Azazel came for Sam," said Gabriel. "Even with my protections she couldn't stop him. When I heard, I killed him. Now I'm here, telling you."

John looked at Gabriel and like his wife, saw something that Gabriel hadn't meant to lay bare.

"You knew that demon was coming after my family. Why didn't you kill it then?"

"Pride. Fear. Maybe a little vindictiveness. Jealousy." The words rushed out of Gabriel's mouth without meaning.

"The hell?"

"Mary made a deal with the demon ten years before Sam was born. It's the only reason he could get into your house. Maybe I thought she'd made her bed and she could lie in it." The thought hadn't crossed Gabriel's mind, but perhaps subconsciously...

John socked him, but Gabriel had the reflexes to tilt his head to cushion the blow for John. Still, John felt as though he'd hit a brick wall. Gabriel reached out and healed it with a touch. John stared at his hand. "You son of a bitch!" John tried to hit Gabriel with his left fist this time, but Gabriel caught it instead.

"You're only hurting yourself," he said as he released it.

"You can't just come here and tell me that you tried to protect us. That my wife got herself killed. What the fuck are you doing here?"

"I needed to know you were okay," said Gabriel. "Mary never wanted you to become a hunter."

"Don't speak to me like you knew my wife."

"Sorry," said Gabriel.

"Right," said John. "You told me everything. Why are you still here?"

"Thought I might do a better job of protecting your family this time," said Gabriel.

"What?" said John.

"Last time," said Gabriel. "I set my protections and left you alone. I'm not going to do that again."

"Why do you care?" asked John.

Gabriel didn't answer the question. "Angels are going to come for your children," said Gabriel. "You'll need me to protect them."

"I don't need anyone," said John.

"Not even to help protect your boys?" Because Gabriel knew that there was no way John Winchester wouldn't do anything he could, make a deal with the worst devil he could find, to keep his boys safe.

"How am I supposed to believe you?"

"I haven't done anything to hurt them yet."

"You could be building up to something."

Gabriel knew there was only one way that John was going to be able to trust and believe him. Gabriel could have decided against it. To back away and maybe try again another day, but he was never going to leave John or his boys unprotected again. Gabriel touched a hand to John's forehead, sending him to sleep and following him into his dream. In his dream, Gabriel didn't need a vessel to manifest, and John was open to every outpouring of Gabriel's grace.

John was almost overwhelmed by the sensations, but when it was all over he looked at Gabriel. His eyes were unfogged by tiredness or drunkenness. "You're... more than I've got words for."

Gabriel's eyes sparkled with fondness. John's eyes sparkled back. Then the man leapt forward and crushed his lips to Gabriel's. In this dreamspace, neither John nor Gabriel was physically stronger, and John easily manoeuvred the angel into positions that would hurt a man in the real world. Gabriel let himself go. He let himself be devoured by John, and when John created a lull with his human perceptions, Gabriel flipped the situation and devoured John.

The pair were naked, suddenly, and Gabriel had no idea whether it was his own doing or John's. He suspected the latter because Gabriel didn't usually pay attention to the little mortal things like clothing. Especially not when they were grace to soul. This was John's world and Gabriel chose to see it the way John did.

There was no need for lubricant, but some appeared anyway. Gabriel savoured the slick slide and the sight of John coming undone. More than anything, he knew that this man needed this. He needed to feel this. It wouldn't surprise Gabriel if he found that this was the first time John had been intimate with someone since Mary died. He silently promised himself, and John, that this would be everything John needed it to be.

John moaned in response, still connected enough to feel what Gabriel did. Gabriel came undone with John Winchester and he was sure he'd never now be able to find himself without the man. It was more than Gabriel ever suspected could happen to him. Thousands of years on the Earth and nothing had ever come close to this. It figured that the experience would be as unique as John Winchester was.

They came together, and Gabriel surrendered to the idea of an angel finding a soulmate.

x x x

In the morning, Gabriel's awareness returned to his vessel at the sound of a gun cocking against his head. Gabriel opened his eyes and saw little Dean all poised to shoot. It broke his heart a little. Sam was sitting on the other bed his eyes wide as he watched his brother.

"Who are you?" asked Dean. "What are you doing with my dad?"

Gabriel was sprawled atop John, who in turn was sprawled atop the blankets of the motel bed. They were both fully clothed and if Dean had met Gabriel before, he probably would have thought it was all entirely innocent. As it was, a strange man was pressing his father into the mattress.

"I'm Gabriel," he said. "I'm a friend of your dad's."

Dean didn't shift the gun a millimetre, but Gabriel could see that he was no longer thought of as a threat. "Are you an angel?" he asked.

Gabriel nodded. No sense lying to the kid.

"Mom said you were watching over us," said Dean.

Well that was a lie. Gabriel had told Mary that he wouldn't be back. "I tried," said Gabriel.

"But mom died," said Dean. "Why didn't you save her?"

"I'm sorry, kiddo," said Gabriel.

Seeing into Gabriel's essence in that unfathomable way of that the Winchesters had, Dean set the gun aside and wrapped his arms around Gabriel's neck, squeezing as tightly as his little arms could. Sammy was quick to follow, jumping straight from his bed to theirs and pressing baby kisses against his cheek.

John woke from the movement, shifting and staring at the spectacle the other people in his bed were making. Gabriel tried to look as innocent as possible. He hadn't asked the boys to jump onto him. John smiled once he was over his initial confusion.

"Daddy," said Sam. "Gabriel's gonna stay and help us."

"Oh is he?" said John, looking at Gabriel.

"Yessir," said Dean. "And he's really sorry mom died."

"I know," said John. "Now would you all mind getting off me?"

"I don't know about that," said Gabriel, shifting his weight. He was still on top of John, but the man wouldn't feel anything heavier than Sam on him. "I'm pretty comfortable here."

"Me too, daddy," said Sam, climbing onto Gabriel's back.

Dean smiled wide enough to expose the gap where one of his canines should have been.

"Then I guess I've got to fight my way out," said John, using one hand to tickle each of his boys.

Sammy shrieked with laughter and Dean giggled before recovering enough to tickle his own father. Gabriel helped Sam by lifting him out of John's reach, but the little mongrel turned on him, so Gabriel feigned hysterics and collapsed onto the bed beside John. Angels weren't ticklish.

"I surrender," said Gabriel, conjuring a white flag. The Winchesters showed their family resemblance in their identical looks of surprise. Then all three of them collapsed into laughter. Gabriel joined in, just happy that they were happy.

x x x

Gabriel spent the day with the Winchesters. John still wasn't exactly sure about him, though the boys had taken to Gabriel immediately. They had breakfast in a local diner, and Gabriel smothered extra whipped cream on all their pancakes when the waitress wasn't looking. The boys found that hilarious. John thought he really didn't need to add another reason to the pile of reasons why he'd be dying of a heart attack too early in life.

The three Winchesters and Gabriel spent the morning at a park flying kites that Gabriel conjured to the boys' specifications. Sammy wanted one that was more streamers than kite, and Dean got one shaped like Batman's bat symbol. There might have been a moment of tears over the loss of a kite if Gabriel hadn't been there. Sammy grew tired of flying his kite and tried to set it down. It blew away and Gabriel watched in amusement as John chased after it, waiting until he was absolutely certain that it had flown too high for John to catch before forcing the kite to fall back to the ground. John glared at Gabriel as though he'd been the one to set the kite down. Dean laughed at Sam and his dad, and Sam applauded his father's amazing ability to catch that which was lost.

Gabriel conjured a picnic for them and though John wondered if the food was really food or just an illusion, it did taste really good. Gabriel tucked in heartily and it was probably that over all the other things that convinced John that Gabriel could be trusted. Someone bent on the destruction of mankind couldn't love food the way Gabriel did.

They spent the afternoon at the zoo, with the boys making animal noises and John growing more comfortable in Gabriel's presence. Dinner was another Gabriel special, this time eaten inside the Impala as they watched a drive-in movie. It seemed a pity to go back to their dingy motel room for the night, but John had frowned at Gabriel before he could even get out the suggestion of a change. John Winchester had his limits.

While John showered, Gabriel found himself in charge of the boys, sort of. Dean was more than capable of getting himself and Sam ready for bed. They probably should have been trying to sleep but Sam was wired from their day out and as Gabriel already knew, Dean wouldn't sleep until Sam did. The two boys had started out sitting next to each other on the bed, with Gabriel sat beside them, but Sam climbed into Gabriel's lap almost immediately. Sam was telling the story of how he'd almost lost his kite as though Dean and Gabriel hadn't been there.

"I'm glad you're here, Gabriel," said Sammy, leaning his head on his chest.

"Me too, kiddo," said Gabriel. He ran his fingers through the soft strands on top of Sam's head and pulled Dean closer with his other arm, though Dean protested. How could he have stayed away from these boys for so long?

"Are you gonna be here tomorrow?" asked Sam.

"Yup," said Gabriel. "I'll stay as long as you like. I wrote myself a new destiny and guess what it said?"

"What?" asked Dean.

"What's a destiny?" asked Sam.

"Your destiny is the way your life's going to go from now on."

"Oh," said Sam.

"And mine says that I'm going to hang around the Winchesters and keep 'em safe from everything until they're tired of having me around."

"That's not gonna happen," said Sam. "I'd die first."

Sam said it so solemnly that Gabriel worried he'd just stated a prophecy.

"What does mine say?" asked Sam.

"Well," said Gabriel. "You've got to write it for yourself, so no one can tell you that it's going to go some way that you don't want it to go."

"I need a crayon," said Sam. "I've gotta write it down right now."

"I think that sounds like a great idea," said Gabriel. He conjured each boy a clipboard with a pad of paper. He gave Sam a box of crayons and Dean a ballpoint pen.

Sam got started immediately, but Dean hesitated. "Do I have to tell you what it is?"

"No," said Gabriel. "It's yours. You get to do whatever you like with it."

Dean nodded. "Okay." He turned so that Gabriel wouldn't be able to see what he was writing. Gabriel gave him his privacy. He didn't take a look at Sam's either, though he got a vague idea of what the boy was writing about because he wanted to know how to spell 'mansion' and whether Labrador had two Os in it like 'door'.

"What are we doing?" John asked when he came out of the bathroom.

"Writing our destinies," said Sam.

John looked at each of his boys, then at Gabriel. "I think that sounds like a great idea."

x x x

When the boys were done, their destinies were folded up and tucked away. Then the boys were tucked into bed together.

Gabriel wondered if it was too presumptuous of him to assume that John would let him share his bed that night. When Gabriel stood awkwardly between the beds, John glared at him as though to say, 'Don't make me actually ask you to share my bed'. Gabriel grinned and jumped in next to John, changing into a set of silk pyjamas before John could process it.

Gabriel never would have suspected that John Winchester was a cuddler, but an arm curled around him almost immediately, under the sheets where Sam and Dean wouldn't see. It brought back memories of last night, and Gabriel longed for a repeat performance.

Gabriel pressed closer to John, but the man resisted. "Not with the boys here," he whispered.

Gabriel rolled his eyes. "I'm waiting for you to fall asleep."

John blinked. "Seriously?"

Gabriel shrugged. "Angels don't need to sleep."

"Hmm," John grunted with his eyes closed, and his fingers began tracing a pattern on Gabriel's back.

"What's that?" asked Gabriel.

"I'm writing my destiny," said John.

Gabriel smiled in contentment. Destiny could screw itself. They'd all written their own.

x X X x

A/N: So... who wants to read the weirdass John/Gabriel/Mary threesome I'm thinking about writing?


End file.
